MAPUTO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican government on Tuesday decreed three days of national mourning for the deaths of around 100 people who were killed Sunday in a shipwreck near the Island of Mozambique, in the northern province of Nampula.
The mourning will be observed from April 10 to 12 throughout the national territory and in the diplomatic and consular missions of Mozambique, according to Filimao Suaze, the spokesman for the Council of Ministers, who spoke to the press in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, after the government session.
"Due to this tragedy, the Council of Ministers, meeting in its ordinary session, regrets this sad occurrence and expresses its solidarity with the survivors, and presents its most heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families," said Suaze.
The spokesman added that the government had decided to mandate a delegation headed by the Minister of Transport and Communications and local authorities, to continue to monitor the situation and provide necessary assistance to the survivors and the bereaved families.
"The Council of Ministers also decided to set up a commission of inquiry to look into the circumstances, causes and responsibilities of the accident and to make advice afterward," said Filimao Suaze.
The capsized vessel was a makeshift ferry carrying about 130 people who were reportedly misinformed about a cholera outbreak and running away from Lungo, the administrative post of Mossuril district in Nampula province.
According to the spokesman, the government will step up communication and awareness-raising mechanisms on cholera, to prevent misinformation from leading to such tragic events again. ■